Runway extension is on; flight plan change is in Rajasthan

There’s good news and bad.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to extend the runway at Jaipur International Airport by more than 2,300 feet. The work order has been awarded to an Udaipur-based firm and the construction work is set to begin from March. Besides the extension work, the existing runway would also be repaired, which is likely to result in rescheduling of flights. There’s high possibility that the timings of over a dozen flights, including one international flight, would be changed.

The decision to extend the runway has silenced all rumours that the work is “stuck” because of the ongoing privatization process.

To ensure that existing flight operations are not affected while the extension work is on, the existing runway would also be repaired. Sources informed that the airport administration is yet to decide if it would carry out the construction work in the day or at night. But there’s higher probability that the Jaipur airport administration would choose to carry out the construction work in the day as there are some feasibility problems in night working. 

“Speculations are rife that the construction work would be carried out between 10am and 5pm,” sources said. The runway extension work of Jaipur airport has been in a limbo for the past two years. Earlier in July 2012, the work was awarded to a Mumbai-based firm but was stalled by the state government so its tourist traffic in winters is not disrupted.